


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by allonsyarielle



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Kent freaks out a lot, Kent is clueless about relationships, M/M, This ended up being pure crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-21 08:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11353224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allonsyarielle/pseuds/allonsyarielle
Summary: In a world where one makes one's home aesthetically pleasing to attract a mate, Tater decides to go visit Vegas for Kent's birthday week and Kent has a lot of work to do to get his house ready for guests.





	Home Is Where The Heart Is

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katarama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katarama/gifts).



> Prompt: Bower Bird AU where people make their homes to attract mates.
> 
> According to wikipedia, Bowerbirds are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate.
> 
> So this prompt was so much fun to work with, unfortunately I had too many ideas and too little motivation to actually write it all so this fic is pretty much just a bunch of crack. Maybe one day I'll come back and try to add in some of the other ideas that just weren't working. 
> 
> Thanks so much to Sarah for being my cheerleader and giving me half of these ideas and also being my beta because this was so poorly written the first time around just to get words on the page to finish the challenge and I don't know if I would have finished it without your help!

Kent had just hung up with Alexei over Skype. The season was over now for both of them, and Alexei told him he wanted to come out to Vegas “to celebrate big birthday.”

Kent was turning 27, so it was not exactly a “big birthday.” It wasn’t a milestone year. It’s not like there was anything you could do at 27 you couldn’t do at 26. But this was Alexei Mashkov, so everything warranted a big, joyous celebration. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

Needless to say, Kent was freaking out just a bit about Alexei coming to visit. He’d never had anyone stay over at his place for an extended amount of time. He never even bothered furnishing all the extra rooms and he’d been living there for years now. Even his mother got put up at the MGM Grand, or the Venetian, or whatever other fancy hotel on the strip Kent felt like setting her up in. His house just wasn’t set up for guests, let alone this specific guest. The kitchen, living room, and his bedroom were the only ones actually decorated, and even those were minimal and impersonal, chosen out of a catalogue his decorator had shown him. He’d never had anyone to impress, so his place mostly just catered to Kit.

Kent was suddenly realising that his house was nowhere near acceptable to present to Alexei. It wasn’t like they were actually dating, hell, Kent wasn’t even 100% sure Alexei was into dudes, but there was no way he was going to let Alexei see his place as it was. It was cold and withdrawn, evident of the little time he actually spent there, and the headspace he had been in when he bought it. The only personality came from the plethora of cat toys because his little princess was spoiled rotten. All in all, it wasn’t much more than one of those model homes shown to potential buyers.

Kent’s first task was to call up his decorator. She had been waiting years to finally help him really turn that house into something. It had so much potential that was not getting used.

“Hey, Sarah, it’s Kent Parson, I don’t know if you remember me, but you helped decorate my house when I first bought it.”

“Kent, of course I remember. You barely even let me touch that beauty. All you’d let me do was pick stock furniture out of a catalogue, which is such a shame with a house like that. I hope you’re calling me up now to tell me you are ready to really bring that place to life!”

Kent let out a bit of a nervous laugh. Feelings were complicated. Ever since Jack, well, he just sort of closed himself off toward the possibility of love and dating. Hockey was his life, but while hockey was great, there was that part of him that knew he wasn’t really living, just getting by. Kind of like his house. Who knew one’s place of dwelling could be such a reflection on one’s self? Perhaps that’s why people spent so much time and effort into making their homes bright, colorful, and attractive. He never thought he’d be one of those people who cared for those things, but then again, he hadn’t met Alexei Mashkov.

He wasn’t really sure what to call whatever it was that was going on with Alexei. It started at the All-Star Game. Just some drunken fun. There might have been some flirting and chirping, but it was all a bit hazy on Kent’s end. He knows he tends to play up the flirtatious nature when he’s inebriated, but that doesn’t mean it meant anything. Plus, Mashkov was a friendly guy, boisterous, and a bit touchy-feely so it was all in good fun. It wasn’t even until he was looking back weeks later that Kent considered maybe Alexei had been flirting back, and even then, he couldn’t tell if it was just all up in his head since he was trying so hard to prove to himself he was over Jack so they could get their friendship back.

What was different with Mashkov though, was that it didn’t stop at the All-Star Game. He must have drunkenly given Mashkov his number because he got a text a few days later, and they started texting on and off, which turned into daily updates on their lives, which became Skyping, and now it was weird to go a full day without hearing Alexei’s voice. He talked to him more than he spoke with his own mother! There were feelings, at least on Kent’s side, but hockey had kept him too busy to dwell on them, and now, the thought of spending a whole week with Alexei here, in his house, was filling his stomach with butterflies in both the best and worst ways. He had one month until Alexei came to visit, and a lot of work to do.

“Yeah, actually, I am,” Kent replied to Sarah. “And I don’t have a lot of time, so I was hoping you were free today or tomorrow to start with some ideas?”

“Well you’re just in luck because my last appointment of the day just cancelled, so the slot is all yours. Does 4:00 PM work?”

“Perfect! See you then.”

When Kent walked into Sarah’s office later that day, she had already set up the conference room with a stack of inspiration books and a bunch of sketches of his house, probably still from his initial meeting with her years ago.

“Okay, so before we begin, how about you tell me about them?”

Yeah, okay, he should have seen that coming. No one just up and redid their house for no reason in today’s society, especially not someone like him, but it still caught him off guard. What surprised him even more though, was the use of the gender neutral pronoun. See, he knew he liked this woman, even if he was probably an ass the last time they met.

He was still a little too shell shocked by her bluntness to respond and just gave her a wide-eyed look of surprise.

“Oh come on, I’ve been in this business long enough to know when someone asks for my services, especially someone like one Kent Parson, who previously couldn’t have cared less about the aesthetics of his house, there is usually a certain someone involved.”

Kent cursed his body for betraying him as he felt his cheeks redden, as his mind wandered to Alexei, but he still didn’t have words to reply.

“Look, I know you are in the public eye, and I assure you I take client confidentiality very seriously. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right?” She laughed at her joke. “Same goes for this office.”

“Yeah, okay. Good to know.” Kent finally said, because he knew he had to say something, but saying anything more was going to out himself, and why the fuck did he think this was a good idea in the first place? He should just put Alexei up in a hotel like he does when his mom comes to visit, and call it a day. But if there was ever a chance that this thing with Alexei could be real, he knew he had to try, so he took another moment to breathe and calm himself down.

“So, I have a friend coming to visit in a month. And maybe there is a part of me hoping this friend isn’t just a friend, though I don’t really know what the fuck to call it since I’m not even sure if he’s into dudes so I don’t know if this whole thing is just in my head and is going to blow up in my face, which is why I am panicking. Oh and yeah I’m gay, and that fact does not leave this room because the media would have a fucking field day with that seeing as there are currently no out professional hockey players and I’m not really looking to be the first.” He was rambling, to cover up for the fact he was uncomfortable and nervous as fuck. The number of people he’d come out to could be counted on one hand. It was not information he gave up lightly, especially to a near stranger.

“Understood,” she replied, remaining professional, and not acknowledging the near breakdown Kent just had. “So tell me more about him and what you’re looking for, then I’ll put together some idea boards for you to take a look at.”

After an hour of talking and brainstorming, Kent had given Sarah enough to work with, or so she had said. She was going to draft up some more concrete ideas and get back to him in a day or two. He was actually feeling a bit better about all of this too.

Meanwhile, Kent decided to bide his time browsing furniture stores. He was a big believer in comfortable furniture so it wasn’t something he could pick from a photo, his ass had to feel it. He dragged Jeff along, because shopping was never fun alone.

“Remind me again why we are buying furniture for your house? You’ve literally been there like five years and never cared it’s half empty before.”

“Maybe I’m just realising I am an adult now and not going anywhere since I just signed on for another seven years with the Aces, so I should at least live in a finished home.”

“Mhmm,” Jeff said suggestively, “and this has nothing to do with the fact Mashkov is coming to visit next month?”

“What?” Kent asked, surprised Jeff even knew that since he hadn’t told anyone, before he remembered Jeff was the same draft year as the Falcs’ goalie, who was also one of Alexei’s best friends on the team, and they still kept in touch. “No, just tired of feeling like I’m still living in a temporary house, ready to pick up and move my life for a trade.”

“Right, okay,” Jeff replied, not believing one word that came out of Kent’s mouth.

When they got to the furniture shop, Kent’s eyes were drawn directly toward a sofa nearly hidden in the back corner. It was a dark beet red, and reminded him of that time Alexei had insisted on cooking him dinner after they played each other in Providence. Alexei had been appalled Kent had never had Russian food and made borscht, among other things. Kent spit out the borscht at the first taste and caught Alexei, who was still in his white dress shirt from his game day suit, in the spray. How Alexei actually enjoyed that was beyond Kent. It was vile. But that disgusting soup led to Kent getting to admire a shirtless Alexei as he changed out of his borscht soaked shirt into a dry one. He darted off toward the couch and plopped himself down on it with a sigh still lost in that memory.

“Dude, that is the ugliest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

“But it’s so comfy! Sit your ass down and feel!” Kent was already curling up, making himself at home on the sofa. Jeff sunk down onto the cushion next to Kent, and yeah, he had to admit, the couch was pretty fucking comfortable! Plus it was so ginormous that is was perfect for large hockey players... not that Kent fit that category.

Ten minutes later, the pair of them were still comfortably lounging on the couch when a sales person came up to them and asked if he could help them. To which Kent replied “Yes, I’d like to purchase this sofa.” The entire transaction was made without having to leave the cocoon he had made within the couch cushions and the salesman even agreed to holding the sofa in storage until Kent was ready for it to be delivered. It was another twenty minutes before either man got up from the soft, plush cushions.

* * *

The next month was spent in a constant state of distress. Every decision he had to make regarding the house he had himself second guessing. Sarah was his saving grace. He wasn’t sure if tipping one’s decorator was appropriate, but for how much she’d helped him, she deserved like double her rates. She’d talked him down so many times, he wondered if she had any experience as a therapist because that’s what she was starting to feel like. Man, maybe stopping his therapy had been a mistake, he should probably call his therapist up and set up visits again.

But despite the anxiety, he was really pleased with how his house was turning out. They fixed up the patio and now he was thinking maybe he should use it more for team BBQs and stuff. He was captain after all. He decided to turn both the spare rooms into guest rooms so his mom and sister could come visit, maybe he’d even host a rookie next season. The house did get lonely with just him and Kit.

If his nerves weren’t overpowering every other emotion in his body, Kent would have to admit he was excited about showing off his newly redone house to Alexei when he arrived later that evening. He knew it was irrational to be this nervous about Alexei spending the week with him. They were friends. Kent had survived having crushes on friends before. Hell, Kent had survived having crushes on straight friends before. Not that he was sure Alexei was straight, or not straight, really he just avoided thinking about Alexei’s sexuality because it only made dealing with his feelings worse. Though, if he was really being honest with himself, he knew his feelings for Alexei had grown a little past a crush.

Kent was looking down at his phone. Alexei had texted him 20 minutes ago that they had landed but were stuck on the runway waiting for a gate assignment. He hadn’t heard anything since and was getting antsy. It was only a matter of time before someone in the airport recognised him and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with fans.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrap around his waist and he was lifted from the ground, spun around in a circle. He was about to fight his way free when he heard the familiar Russian drawl.

“Miss me kotyonok?”

“Fuck, Tater, you don’t just go invading a guy’s personal space like that with no warning. I almost decked you in the mouth.”

“Sorry, just happy to see you.” He flashed his signature smile.

“Yeah, yeah, come on, grab your bags and let’s get out of here before someone recognises us.”

* * *

Kent made a grand gesture as he entered his house, showing off to Alexei. He spread his arms wide open in presentation and then spun around to continue walking in backwards, facing Alexei as he crossed the threshold.

“Welcome to casa de--” the rest of the sentence fell from his tongue as he saw Alexei’s fingers come toward his lips from the direction of the door post. “Did you just kiss my mezuzah?”

“Yes,” Alexei replied confused. “Is supposed to, no?” Kent shrugged, he really didn't know the answer. While he considers himself to be Jewish and is proud of his heritage, he wasn’t raised religious. Alexei matched Kent’s shrug. “Is habit I guess, then.”

“I didn't even know you were Jewish!” It was true. They had been talking for six months now every day and it had not come up once.

“I can say same to you.”

“Yeah, okay. Touché. I’m not really religious though, my grandma would just have my head if she knew I didn’t at least hang a mezuzah on my door post. Anyway, come in I'll show you around.”

Kent started the tour in the guest wing, showing Alexei where he could drop off his bags, then rest of the main floor, before pausing outside the stairs to the basement.

“Ready for my favourite part?” Alexei grinned and nodded in reply. “Okay, follow me.”

There is a light switch at the top of the stairs, but Kent decided to keep the lights off until they got down to the bottom. Keep up the surprise. When they reached the bottom of the flight of stairs he flicked on the light to reveal his new mancave practice rink.

“You have hockey rink in basement?” Alexei asked flabbergasted.

“Yup,” Kent replied popping the “p”. This was his favourite addition to the house Sarah had suggested. He looked into figuring out a way to install a cooling system for real ice, but it was too much work and required a lot of maintenance so they went with synthetic ice you could still use ice skates on.

“Can skate? Not ice.”

“Yeah, that’s the point! It’s synthetic ice. It feels a little weird at first, but you get used to it.”

“Okay, I go get skates.” He turned to head back up the stairs like a kid in a candy store before Kent stopped him.

“No need, I got you covered.” Kent pulled two pairs of skates out of a storage bin. One for himself, and one he handed to Alexei. He would never admit it, but he might have called up Bittle and had him sneak a peek at Alexei’s shoe size, then proceeded to buy a variety of sizes to cover up for the fact that he made sure he had a spare pair in Alexei’s size just for him.

Once they were both laced up, Kent asked for help moving the sofa out of the way so they could use the whole space. Alexei chirped him about the ugliness of the couch. He really doesn’t understand why everyone is so concerned with what a couch looks like rather than how it feels under your ass.

“Shut up, I promise you it is the most comfortable couch your ass will ever feel. Now unlock your side so we can move it out of the way.”

Instead of unlocking the break so the couch could be wheeled to the side, Alexei plopped himself down lengthwise on the couch, careful not to let his skates tear the arm rest.

“Hmm, is right. Couch is very comfy even if look like borscht.”

Kent rolled his eyes and was trying not to laugh at that comment because he was not ready to admit that was part of the reason he was drawn to the couch in the first place.

“Know what make couch better?” Alexei asked.

“What?”

“You,” he said reach out and grabbing Kent around the waist and pulling him down on top of himself on the couch. Even though the sofa was big, Alexei was just as big and didn’t leave much extra room so Kent was pretty much laying on top of Alexei, faces a mere inches apart. Kent froze there half on top of Alexei wrapped up in his arms unsure how to interpret this. He spent so long trying to convince himself everything between them was just in his head, even if there was that part of him that wished it wasn’t true. It was hard to turn off that defense mechanism, even laying here in large, warm Russian arms. But before Kent could react, Alexei was leaving a soft kiss on his nose and lifting him back to his feet, standing up next to Kent himself.

“Okay we skate now.” When Kent hadn’t moved as he was frozen to his spot, Alexei turned back around. “Kenny you okay?”

“What the fuck was that?” Alexei’s face fell with confused sadness, and Kent realised his words came out a bit more harsh than he intended. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out so harsh. I just- When you do things like that, it messes with my head. I never know if it’s just you being friendly or-- Straight guys don’t softly kiss other guys on the nose okay? And I--”

“Straight guys also don’t be boyfriends,” Alexei said with a giggle. They hadn’t actually discussed the nature of their relationship, but Alexei had started to think of Kent as his boyfriend for a while now and was hoping to use this visit, with no hockey to get in the way, to make it real.

“Wait. What?”

“Kenny, am not straight. Bisexual I think. I’m thinking you know because of flirting and skype dates, which is why am laughing.”

“Oh,” is what comes out of Kent’s mouth, as his brain is still processing everything going on. “Wait, you really want to be my boyfriend?”

“Is what I’m saying,” Alexei’s grin is even wider than usual, which was not something Kent thought was possible.

This time it was Kent launching himself at Alexei to kiss him properly. They did finally get their skate in, but not before making good use of the ugly borscht coloured couch. 

**Author's Note:**

> I found [this picture](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ce/64/39/ce64395f986051ea3218fc8df6f0a70f.jpg) which inspired the basement which is my favorite part of Kent's house


End file.
